Rebecca De Mornay (born August 29, 1959,[1][2][3][a]) is an American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred in Risky Business. De Mornay is also known for her roles in The Slugger's Wife (1985), Runaway Train (1985), The Trip to Bountiful (1985), Backdraft (1991), and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
Rebecca De Mornay | |
|---|---|
 De Mornay in 2006 | |
| Born | Rebecca Jane Pearch August 29, 1959[a] Santa Rosa, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Rebecca George |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1975, 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Wally George (father) |
| Relatives | Eugenia Clinchard (grandmother) |
Her other film credits include The Three Musketeers (1993), Never Talk to Strangers (1995), Identity (2003), Lords of Dogtown, Wedding Crashers (both 2005), and Mother's Day (2010). On television, she starred as Wendy Torrance in the miniseries adaptation of The Shining (1997), and as Dorothy Walker on Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015–19).
Early life
De Mornay was born Rebecca Jane Pearch in Santa Rosa, California, the daughter of Julie[9] and Wally George (né George Walter Pearch), a disc jockey and later television host.[10] Her paternal grandmother was vaudeville performer and child film actress Eugenia Clinchard.[11]
Her parents divorced in 1960, and she took the surname of her stepfather, Richard De Mornay, after her mother married him in 1961. She spent her early years in Pasadena, California, until her stepfather died of a stroke on March 2, 1962, aged 48.[12] After his death, De Mornay and her half-brother Peter were raised by her mother, who relocated the family to Europe, where they lived in several different locations.[13] She attended the independent Summerhill School in Leiston, Suffolk, England[14] before completing her studies at a private high school in Germany.[13]
Career
By the time she was 16, De Mornay had an agent who was selling her songs to German rock & roll musicians, and she had written the theme song for a kung fu movie called Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death (1975).[15][16] In 1980,[13] De Mornay returned to the United States and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Institute to study acting.[17] She made her film debut with a small part in Francis Ford Coppola's 1981 film One from the Heart, which starred her real-life partner at the time, Harry Dean Stanton.[18][19] Her star-making role came two years later in Risky Business (1983), as a call girl who seduces a high-school student played by Tom Cruise. In 1985, she played the title role in The Slugger's Wife opposite Michael O'Keefe, and co-starred in The Trip to Bountiful and Runaway Train, both of which were nominated for several Academy Awards. That same year, she appeared with Starship's Mickey Thomas in the music video for the song "Sara". The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 15, 1986.
She also appeared in Roger Vadim's provocative 1988 remake of And God Created Woman, and as the wife of Kurt Russell's character in Ron Howard's Backdraft (1991). In 1990 she enacted the role of a USAF Captain pilot in HBO's successful Cold War film By the Dawn's Early Light. One of De Mornay's most commercially successful films was the thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, released in 1992. She starred as a defense lawyer in Sidney Lumet's murder drama Guilty as Sin (1993) with Don Johnson. Then she appeared in the 1995 drama film Never Talk to Strangers opposite Antonio Banderas, for which she was also the executive producer.
In 2003, she guest-starred as primary antagonist in the first two episodes of season 2 of Boomtown. In 2004, she guest-starred as attorney Hannah Rose for the last few episodes of The Practice and the following year, had a brief role alongside Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. De Mornay also starred in the 2007 drama American Venus.[4]
In June 2007, she appeared in the HBO series John from Cincinnati with a starring role as matriarch of a troubled Imperial Beach, California, surfing family and the grandmother/guardian of a teen surfer on the brink of greatness. She appeared in Darren Lynn Bousman's Mother's Day (2010).
In 2012, De Mornay played the role of Finch's mom in the movie American Reunion where she portrayed an attractive older woman and a love interest of Stifler. From 2015 to 2019, she appeared in Jessica Jones as Trish Walker's abusive mother.[20]
Personal life
De Mornay dated actor Harry Dean Stanton in the early 1980s. They met in 1981 on the set of One from the Heart[21] and dated until De Mornay and Tom Cruise began an affair while filming Risky Business in 1982.[22] De Mornay and Cruise parted in 1985.
De Mornay married writer Bruce Wagner on December 16, 1986; they divorced in 1990.[23]
De Mornay subsequently dated and was briefly engaged to singer Leonard Cohen.[24][25] She co-produced Cohen's 1992 album The Future, which is also dedicated to her.
De Mornay was in a relationship with actor turned sportscaster Patrick O'Neal. They have two daughters together.[3][26]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | One from the Heart | Understudy | Credited as Rebecca de Mornay |
| 1983 | Risky Business | Lana | |
| Testament | Cathy Pitkin | ||
| 1985 | The Slugger's Wife | Debby Palmer | |
| Runaway Train | Sara | ||
| The Trip to Bountiful | Thelma | ||
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Beauty | |
| 1988 | Feds | Elizabeth "Ellie" DeWitt | |
| And God Created Woman | Robin Shea Moran | ||
| 1989 | Dealers | Anna Schuman | |
| 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Captain Moreau, USAF | |
| 1991 | Backdraft | Helen McCaffrey | |
| 1992 | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders | MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| 1993 | Guilty as Sin | Jennifer Haines | |
| The Three Musketeers | Milady de Winter | ||
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Dr. Sarah Taylor | Executive producer |
| 1996 | The Winner | Louise | Credited as Rebecca DeMornay |
| 1999 | Thick as Thieves | Det. Louise Petrone | |
| 1999 | A Table for One | Ruth Draper | |
| 2000 | The Right Temptation | Derian McCall | |
| 2003 | Identity | Caroline Suzanne | Credited as Rebecca DeMornay |
| 2004 | Raise Your Voice | Aunt Nina | |
| 2005 | Lords of Dogtown | Philaine | |
| Wedding Crashers | Mrs. Kroeger | ||
| 2007 | American Venus | Celia Lane | |
| Music Within | Mrs. Pimental | ||
| 2010 | Flipped | Patsy Loski | |
| Mother's Day | Natalie "Mother" Koffin | ||
| 2011 | A Fonder Heart | Dr. Bach | |
| Apartment 1303 3D | Maddie Slate | ||
| 2012 | American Reunion | Rachel Finch | |
| 2015 | Collar | Mayor Ramona 'Nomi' Billingsley | |
| 2016 | I Am Wrath | Vivian Hill | |
| 2018 | Periphery | Vi Warner | |
| 2020 | She Ball | Aggie | |
| 2024 | Peter Five Eight | Brenda |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Tall Tales & Legends | Slew Foot Sue | Episode: "Pecos Bill" |
| The Murders in the Rue Morgue | Claire Dupin | Television film | |
| 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Captain Moreau | Television film |
| 1991 | An Inconvenient Woman | Flo March | Television film |
| 1993 | Blind Side | Linda Kaines | Television film |
| 1994 | Getting Out | Arlene Holsclaw | Television film |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Woman | Episode: "The Conversion". Also directed the episode. |
| 1997 | The Shining | Wendy Torrance | Miniseries |
| 1998 | The Con | Barbara Beaton / Nancy Thoroughgood | Television film |
| 1999 | Night Ride Home | Nora Mahler | Television film |
| ER | Elaine Nichols | 5 episodes | |
| 2000 | Range of Motion | Lainey Berman | Television film |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | Kim McCormack | Television film |
| 2002 | Salem Witch Trials | Elizabeth Parris | Television film |
| 2003 | No Place Like Home | Liz | Television pilot |
| Boomtown | Sabrina Fithian / Jill Foster | 2 episodes | |
| 2004 | The Practice | Hannah Rose | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Tessa McKellen | Episode: "Manipulated" |
| 2007 | John from Cincinnati | Cissy Yost | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Hatfields & McCoys | Mary Hatfield | Unaired pilot |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Barbara Cotchin | Episode: "A ia la aku" | |
| 2015–2019 | Jessica Jones | Dorothy Walker | 13 episodes |
| 2016, 2021 | Lucifer | Penelope Decker | 3 episodes |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Song | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Starship | "Sara" | Sara |
Notes
References
- ^ "Famous birthdays for Aug. 29: Rebecca De Mornay, Liam Payne". UPI. August 29, 2019.
-- Actor Rebecca De Mornay in 1959 (age 60)
- ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 29-Sept. 4". AP News. The Associated Press. August 23, 2021.
Aug. 29...Actor Rebecca DeMornay is 62.
- ^ a b "Passages". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "Rebecca De Mornay arrested for suspected DUI". Today. Associated Press. November 6, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
Associated Press records indicate De Mornay's age is 45, while some other sources give it as 48.
- ^ "Famous birthdays for Aug. 29: Rebecca De Mornay, Liam Payne". UPI. August 29, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Vital Statistics: Births, Deaths, Marriages, Divorces". The Press Democrat. August 31, 1959 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thomson 2010, p. 98.
- ^ "Rebecca De Mornay Filmography". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018.
- ^ "Rebecca De Mornay Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ Hammer, Joshua (February 27, 1984). "Rabble-Rouser Wally George Is the New Pitchman and Great Right Hope of TV Squawk Shows". People. 21 (8). Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ^ Kiehn 2003, p. 258.
- ^ "A Pasadena Genius Passes". Independent Star-News. April 8, 1962.
- ^ a b c "Rebecca De Mornay Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ Smithers, Rebecca (March 24, 2000). "Radical boarding school escapes closure threat". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "King Of Kung Fu (Titelsong A. D. Film Good Bye, Bruce Lee)". Discogs. 1975.
- ^ "A blast through the past". Pop Cult Master. April 13, 2018.
- ^ "Rebecca De Mornay — about this person". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (September 10, 2013). "Harry Dean Stanton Looks at the Actor's Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "Notes on the New Harry Dean Stanton Documentary". vice.com. September 20, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
- ^ Abad-Santos, Alex (November 23, 2015). "In Marvel's Jessica Jones, women get stuff done while men just talk about women". Vox. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Fortune, Drew (September 20, 2017), The Tao of Harry Dean Stanton: Alcohol, Cigarettes, and Knowing "You're Nothing", Vanity Fair magazine
- ^ Sager, Jessica (June 24, 2021), From Teen Crushes to Couch Jumping, Tom Cruise's Dating History Has Been a Heck of a Ride, Parade magazine
- ^ "Still Holding, Bruce Wagner — book review". New York Magazine. November 3, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ King, Randall (August 29, 2009). "Rebecca De Mornay joins film's killer cast". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ Cohen, Leonard (June 1, 1993). "Knowing Rebecca de Mornay Like Only Leonard Cohen Can". Interview magazine. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
- ^ "Star Tracks". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016.
Sources
- Kiehn, David (2003). Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company. Berkeley, California: Farewell Books. ISBN 978-09729-2265-4.
- Thomson, David (2010). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Completely Updated and Expanded. New York City, New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-3075-9461-7.
Further reading
- "The Key to Rebecca". Saturday Review. 12 (1): 30–34. January–February 1986.
- Tykus, Michael J. (2000). "Rebecca de Mornay". Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. Vol. 29. Gale Research Co. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-7876-3188-8.
- Room, Adrian (2010). "Rebecca de Mornay". Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th ed.). McFarland. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-7864-4373-4.
- Segrave, Kerry; Martin, Linda (1990). "Rebecca de Mornay". The Post-Feminist Hollywood Actress: biographies and filmographies of stars born after 1939. McFarland & Co. pp. 265–269. ISBN 978-0-89950-387-5.
- Aylesworth, Thomas G.; Bowman, John S.; Fairbanks, Douglas (1992). "De Mornay, Rebecca". World Guide to Film Stars. Great Pond. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-56657-007-7.
- Sleeman, Elizabeth (2001). "De Mornay, Rebecca". The International Who's Who of Women 2002 (3rd ed.). Routledge. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
- Riggs, Thomas, ed. (2005). "De MORNAY, Rebecca". Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television: A Biographical Guide. Vol. 64. Gale / Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-7876-9037-3.